Celebrate Grace

Grace LBC is celebrating 50 years as a church! Join us on Sunday, May 21st! We will have a special church service at 10:30, followed by a catered meal, games, and more! 

The History of Grace LBC

After much prayer and approval by the CLB (Church of the Lutheran Brethren) headquarters, the time was right to start a church in Bismarck. Two families in particular, Charles Backstrom's family and Ken Austin's family, were very significant in getting the work going. There were Bible studies held weekly at the Backstrom home in the evening and Bible stories for the children. Soon Pastor Burton Bundy, his wife Bonnie, and children moved from Sidney, MT to be the first pastor at Grace. At that time, a room in the Seventh Day Adventist Church was used for the Sunday Worship Service and Sunday School. A search for property was underway to find a location for the church. The search took a while, but then the  Reichenbergers had heard that St. Joseph's Catholic grade school was going to be for sale. It was decided to purchase a portion of the available property and that became the home for Grace Lutheran Brethren Church. The first service at the new home for Grace LBC was held on August 2, 1973, using one of the classrooms as the meeting place. Remodeling of the building began. The north area of the current fellowship area was the first sanctuary.

The church grew under the ministry of Pastor Bundy. He served Grace until June 1, 1978. At that time Pastor Randy Paulson was called. The church continued to grow and there was a need for a larger facility. In 1980, the current sanctuary and offices were added. Pastor Paulson's ministry came to a close in July of 1983. Pastor O.D. Thompson was called to be the interim pastor until Febrary 1986. Pastor Forrest Erickson and his wife, Julie, and their family began their ministry in March of 1986. In May of 1989, Pastor Erickson left Grace to accept a position with the synod. Pastor Greg Wisted began at Grace on November 1, 1989. Pastor Wisted's ministry came to a close in September of 1995. Pastor Allan Shaner came to Grace from Grand Forks in January of 1996. In the early years of Grace, the youth program was led by volunteers from the church. In the late 1990s the need was felt for someone to lead that group who was able to devote much more time than volunteers were able to. Lars Coleman came to Grace in 2000 to lead the youth group for about 3 years. When Lars left, Paul Nickolauson took over the youth group. Pastor Ryan Nordlund began his ministry on July 1, 2011. Pastor Keith Wolderich began his ministry on April 1, 2013. 

We thank God for his faithfulness throughout the years at Grace LBC!